Pencil sharpener



Aug. 8, 1961 V. E. CALHOUN PENCIL SHARPENER Filed Sept. 27, 1957 ../i'g. s

INVENTOR.

Ver/m f. Calhoun im@ fw@ HTTORNEY My invention relates to a pencil Sharpener and an object of my invention is to provide a pencil Sharpener designed to rest on a desk or table and which may be quickly and easily operated in sharpening ra pencil by holding the pencil in one hand and using the same hand to reciprocably move an actuating member by which rotary movement is imparted to the pencil sharpening mechanlsm.

Another object is to provide a pencil Sharpener which makes it possible to sharpen a pencil by the use of one hand only.

A further object is to provide a pencil Sharpener in which the means for imparting rotation to the pencil sharpening element includes an upright reciprocable member having spiral type driving mechanism.

Other objects are to provide a pencil Sharpener which is quiet in operation and which can always be kept within easy reach of the user thereby making the Sharpener very convenient to use and making possible a saving in the time and eort usually required in getting up `and going to the pencil Sharpener.

Other objects of this linvention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

FIGURE l is a view in vertical section, with parts in elevation, of a pencil Sharpener constructed in accordance with my invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view, on a smaller scale than FIG. 1, of said pencil Sharpener.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view Showing a detail of housing holding means.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on broken line 4-4 of FIG. l and showing ball type ratchet means.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing pawl type ratchet means which can be used in place of the ball ratchet means shown in FIGS. l and 4.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view partly in section and partly in elevation showing pencil Sharpener and pencil Sharpener driving means of modiied form.

The pencil Sharpener shown in FIGS. l to 5 comprises a hollow box like base formed of an upper part 10 and a. lower pant 11 secured together by screws 12. Preferably a pad 13 of soft material `of good friction characteristics, such as rubber, is attached to the bottom of the base housing 11 to prevent marriug surfaces on which the device is placed and to minimize movement of the device when in use.

The pencil pointing mechanism shown in FIG. l is of standard construction. It comprises a frame 15 rotatively mounted in an upright position and having two spirally fluted pencil pointing rolls or cylinders 16 and 17 rotatively mounted therein by upwardly divergent axial bearing pins 1S and 19 respectively. The lower ends of the cylinders 16 and 17 are relatively close together and the upper ends of said cylinders are spread apart a distance preferably more than the maximum diameter of an ordinary lead pencil. The upper end of the frame 15 terminates in a tubular bearing member 20 through which a pencil is inserted to position it between the pencil sharpening cylinders 16 and 17.

At their lower ends the pencil pointing cylinders 16 and 17 are respectively provided with rigidly attached spur gears 21 and 22 which mesh with an internal ring gear 23 in the hub 24. The hub 24 is rigid with and extends upwardly from the top base housing member 10. Rotation of the frame 15 will move the cylinders Patented Aug. 8, 1961 16 and 17 in circular paths about the axis of rotation of Said frame and will simultaneously rotate said cylinders in the same direction about their own axes in providing movement suitable for sharpening a pencil. An axial shaft 25 is rigid with the frame 15 and extends downwardly therefrom through a bearing 26 in the hub 24 and into a suitable bearing 27 in the lower frame or housing part 11. Preferably a ball thrust bearing 28 is provided under the lower end of the shaft 25.

A cover member 30 of inverted cup shape lits over and houses the pencil sharpening mechanism. This cover member 30 also cooperates with the upper housing member 10 in forming a receptacle for cuttings and lead. Preferably the lower end of the cover member 30 ts over an upstanding circular ange 31 on the housing part 10 and is releasably connected with said ange 31 by inwardly protruding pins 32 which engage within suitable bayonet slots 33 in the liange 31. Preferably shavings and lead are disposed of by rst inverting the pencil Sharpener and then removing and emptying the cover 30.

The cover 30 has an axially positioned upwardly eX- tending tubular shank 34 which receives the tubular pencil guide 20 on the upper end of the frame 15. The tubular shank 34 serves as a pencil guide Iand preferably said shank is internally provided with spring pawls 35 which engage with and help to hold and guide pencils While they are being sharpened. Preferably a pad 29 of sandpaper or like abrasive material is Secured to the top of the cover 3) for convenience in puttin-g a Sharper point on the lead o-f a pencil which has been sharpened.

The means for imparting rotation to the pencil sharpener mechanism comprises an upright driving member 36 positioned `alongside of the pencil Sharpener mechanism and rotatively supported by two bearings 37 and 38 in the respective base or housing parts 10 and 11. A ball type thrust bearing 39 can be provided under and in supporting relation to the lowermost end of the upright driving member 36.

A gearwheel 40 is iixedly secured on the driving member 36 by means, such as a cross pin 41, and meshes with a smaller gearwheel 42 which is xedly secured on the shaft 26 by a cross pin 43. The driving member 36 is cylindrical and is externally provided with a spiral groove 44. A tubular actuating device 45 is slidably and telescopica-lly disposed on said driving member 36 and is connected with said driving member 36 by ratchet type means which will rotate the driving member when the actuating `device 45 is held non-rotatable and moved downwardly over said driving member. The ratchet type connecting means shown in FIGS. l and 3 comprises a sleeve 46 retained within the lower end portion of the actuating device 45 by a Screw plug 47. The sleeve 46 is rotatable on the driving member 36 and is internally provided with a tooth or pawl 48 which operates in the external spiral groove 44 of said driving member 36. Engagement of the tooth 48 with a shoulder 49 at the upper end of the Spiral slot 44 limits upward movement of the actuating device 45. A compression spring 50, which has only enough Strength to hold the actuating member 45 at the limit of its upward movement is disposed within the tubular actuating device 45 between the upper end of the driving member 36 and a Screw plug 52 in the upper end of the actuating member 45. One or more ratchet balls 53 are operatively disposed between the actuating device 45 and the sleeve 461. Each ratchet ball is disposed in a cavity 54 in the actuating device between an inclined wall `55 of said cavity and the periphery of the sleeve 46. A small compression spring 56 lightly urges each ball `53 into wedging position so that the sleeve 46 will be locked against rotation in one vdirection but free to rotate in the other direction in the actuating device 45.

If it is desired to use pawl type ratchet means, see FIG. 5, then a sleeve 60 having external ratchet teeth 61 may be provided on the driving member 36 and lthe lower end portion of yan actuating device 45' may be suitably moditied to receive one or more pawls 62 which are urged against the teeth 61 by springs 63 and cooperate to prevent ro-tation of the sleeve 60 inone direction within the actuating device 45 but leave said sleeve 60 free to rotate fin the opposite direction.

The actuating device 45, FIG. 1, has a knob 64 on its upper end and preferably said knob is provided with a pad 65 of high friction material to better resist turning of the lactuating device 45. Obviously guide means may be provided to prevent turning of this actuating device 45, as hereinafter described in connection with FIG. 6.

ln sharpening a pencil wirth this sharpener the user grasps the pencil between the thumb and linger, inserts the point thereof through the tubular guide members into contact with the cutting cylinders 16 and 17 and, at the same time, brings the palm of the hand into engagement with the knob 64. With the hand in this position it is possible to impart an up and down movement to the actuating device 45 and at the same time hold the pencil in hrm engagement with the cutting cylinders 16 and 17. The springs 35 help in holding the pencil. Each downward movement of the actuating device 45 imparts rotation in the proper direction to the frame and cutting cylinders 16 and 17 and a `few downward movements of said actuating device 4S is usually suflicient to sharpen a pencil. This Sharpener is light in weight, does not take up much room on la desk or table, does not need to be secured to a Wall and can conveniently be kept within reach of persons working at desks or tables.

FIG. 6 illustrates a modiiied form of my invention in which a conventional pencil Sharpener 70 having a blade 71 is rigid with a shaft 72 which is rotatively supported by bearings 73 and 74 in base frame members 75 and 76. The shaft V72. is connected by a sprocket wheel 77 and link belt 78 with another sprocket wheel 79 on a driving member 36'. The driving member 36' is similar to the driving member 36 except that it has a spiral groove 44 which is pitched in the opposite direction from the groove 44 of member 36 to provide rotation of the Sharpener 7 0 in the correct direction.

A reciprocable actuating device 80, which functions in the same manner as the `actuating device 45 of FIG. 1, slidably receives the upper end of the ldriving member 36. A xed guide member 81 is provided to restrain the actuating device 80 from turning as said device 80 is moved reciprocably and particularly as said device 80 is moved downwardly. One way to do this is to make the actuating device 80 and guide member 81 both noncylindrical in cross section. For instance, both of these parts can be made with one or more flat sides. This relieves the operator of the necessity of using the hand to prevent rotation of the actuating device 80 on the ldownward movement of the same. The blade 71 shown tin FIG. 6 functions in the same manner as the blade of an ordinary pocket type pencil Sharpener in sharpening a pencil and except for this difference in the cutting action the structure shown in FIG. 6 operates in substantially the same manner as the hereinbefore described structure shown in FIGS. l to 4.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings clearly disclose preferred embodiments of my invention but 'it will be understood that these disclosures are merely illustrative and that changes may be made within the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

In a pencil Sharpener, a normally horizontal hollow base; rotatable pencil sharpening mechanism extending upwardly from said base tand having a downwardly extending shatt rotatively journaled in said base; a cover member of inverted cup shape housing said pencil sharpening mechanism and removably attached to said base; lan upwardly directed centrally positioned pencil receiving tube on said cover member, said tube having resilient pencil gripping means therein capable of lightly gripping a pencil; an upright driving post of a height substantially equal to the height of said cover member positioned alongside of said cover member and journaled in said base; la long pitch spiral groove in said post extending from a point near the upper end of the post to a point near the top of the hollow base; a large gearwheel rigid with said post within the hollow base; a smaller gearwheel rigid with the shaft of said sharpening mechanism and meshed with said large gearwheel; a tubular actuating memberreciprocable on said driving post and extending to a substantial distance above said cover member; a compression spring interposed between the upper end of said post and the upper end portion of said actuating member urging said actuating member upwardly; a sleeve rotatively disposed within the lower end portion of said actuating member; a tooth rigid with the inside of said sleeve and extending into the spiral 4groove in said post; a nut removably retaining said sleeve in said actuating member; ratchet members interposed between the exterior of said sleeve and said tubular actuating member providing free rotation in one direction of said sleeve when said actuating member is moving upwardly on said post and locking said sleeve against rotation in the actuating mernber in the opposite direction when said actuating member is moving downwardly on said post; and a knob on the upper end of said actuating member, said knob being vertically reciprocably movable above the plane of the top of said cover member and parallel with and to one side of the axis of said sharpening mechanism, whereby one hand control of the reciprocation of said actuating member and ,the application of a pencil to said sharpening mechanism is provided.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 761,191 Bates et al. May 31, 1904 924,372 Peck June 8, 1909 1,905,608 Schoenfeldt Apr. 25, 1933 2,216,681 Wallett Oct. l, 1940 2,254,772 Burleigh et al. Sept. 2, 1941 2,439,252 Jordan Apr. 6, 1948 2,818,739 Dowdle lan. 7, 1958 

